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Abnormal psychology Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis
Quizlet abnormal psychology assesment and diagnosis
Important question related to abnormal psychology
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There are multiple criteria that come into play when determining a psychological disorder. One reason is because, it is hard to know for sure if an action is abnormal or not. Something could be abnormal in our country, but a custom in another.
According to Psychology in Action, “[r]ather than being fixed categories, both “abnormal” and “normal” behaviors exist along a continuum, and no single criterion is adequate for [i]dentifying all forms of abnormal behavior” (Huffman). There are four criteria used to determine whether behavior is abnormal. These are known as the four D’s. The first is deviance, this means that someones thoughts are different than those in the their culture and/or society. The second is dysfunction, this is when a person’s behavior is interfering with their everyday life and functions. The third is distress, this means that the person has a substantial amount of distress and unhappiness which can lead to risky or immoral actions. The fourth and final D is danger, this is when the person’s actions indicate that they are a danger to themselves and others.
There are also seven psychological perspectives, they are thought to conduce to abnormal behavior. First is sociocultural, the problems reflect the values and beliefs of the culture. Second is behavioral, there is faulty conditioning or modeling. Evolutionary is the third, this is an exaggerated form of an adaptive reaction. Fourth is humanistic, where the personal growth is blocked. Fifth is psychoanalytic and/or psychodynamic, the unresolved or unconscious conflict. Cognitive is sixth, this is faulty thinking. Seventh is biological, this is problems with the brain, genetics, and biochemistry.
In Psychology in Action, Karen Huffman explains the relationship b...
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United States. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.. What Is Schizophrenia?. Washington, D.C.: The National Institute of Mental Health, Web. .
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